Wednesday, December 28, 2016

One of my best-loved perks of doing this feature is being able to help get the
word out about some of my favorite vegans. About half the time, this is someone
I have not met in person but I am so inspired by their work and their message;
the other half of my interview subjects, I am fortunate enough to know in
person. Nicole Moore Eisenberg is one
such individual. We met some time back as part of the Mercy for Animals
contingent with Chicago’s Gay Pride parade and I was immediately struck by
Nicole’s great sense of humor and love of fun (she always was dressed really,
um, memorably) and her warm, vivacious, unpretentious personality. Nicole is
one of those “all in” people and as a fellow (sister?) “all in” type, I
appreciate it when I recognize that quality in someone else. Let the others
roll their eyes at our enthusiasm and spunk while we create
the world we want to live in.

Sadly, Nicole is no longer local to me but Chicago’s loss is New York’s gain. Nicole
and her equally sparkly husband are now based in Brooklyn where they run Veg
Option Allies and Advocates, or VOAA, a
non-profit that works to break down barriers to veganism – like social
isolation, perceived difficulties and ingrained habits – to make compassionate
living accessible to everyone. They do this with fun events, like their Massive Vegan Potluck
Parties and educational, helpful videos on YouTube. Through
their mission of community building, VOAA offers a powerful resource for helping
those who are already herbivores to enjoy feeling solidarity and, more
uniquely, encourages vegans to listen and hear about the reality of other lives
so as to become true allies. The idea here is to create a win-win: we get to
share the vegan love while gaining the empathy and understanding that comes
from engaging outside of our usual social circles. I love the mission of VOAA
and Nicole Moore Eisenberg makes me giddy. I am honored to feature her as this
week’s Vegan Rockstar.

1. First of all, we’d love to hear your
“vegan evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early
influences or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave
your path?

I was always that
kid who freaked out with happiness when animals were around. I think a lot of
us unheard, lost, lonely kids were like that. Unfortunately, my go-to coping
strategies for childhood/adolescence were people-pleasing and stuffing down my
emotions as to not inconvenience anyone. So, though I did get leafleted in
college (and even watched a few seconds of undercover footage!) and around the
same time realized my dog resembled a little lamb and began feeling guilty for
eating animals, I didn’t change my behavior because I was deeply scared of
being abandoned for being different or difficult. Years went by and I started
running and working out regularly. At that point, I became vegan over a weekend
because a popular health/weight loss-themed book I picked up presented all the
health and vanity points for me. It was like my spiritual self wanted to go
vegan for years but I couldn’t because of my immense self-doubt. Then,
eventually, my physical self wanted to do it and did. But even after being
vegan 7 years, I feel like I’m still doing the work of merging my emotional and
physical selves; Of un-stuffing my emotions and ditching the false-self I
adopted early on in life and that I have relied upon without even knowing it
until recently.

The take-away for me
- and what I try to impart upon folks when I give my “Finding your own voice in
the veg/an movement” talk - is that there is no such thing as an immediate
transformation, even if we do go vegan very quickly or overnight. I like to
call our tendency for romanticizing our “vegan evolution” stories “the
butterfly effect”. This totally happened to me, which is why I am comfortable
sharing my theory with you. I am not judging here, just passing along this
observation in hopes it might help others. When we’re in vegan circles a LOT
and share “our story” a LOT, it tends to get fable-ized. We live in a culture
seeped in competition, so it’s only natural that we want to out-do and
out-vegan each other a little bit when we compare stories. It’s unfortunate for
everyone involved because SNORE! I don’t know about you, but I get bored to tears
hearing “here’s what I want you to hear” stories rather than “here’s what
really happened” stories. Plus, it gets us in the habit of sharing our “fable”
instead of our story, and I can say with certainty not many non-vegans are
buying it!

So, here goes: “It
all happened one day when I was serenely perched atop the Grand Canyon and a
butterfly landed on my shoulder and spoke to my soul…that moment forever
changed me as I dropped my beef jerky into the canyon and have been vegan ever
since that exact moment. I have never missed anything and it was the easiest
thing I ever did. I was immediately repulsed by all animal products, even
grilled chicken, and I never even crave vegan cheese or meats. I am so pure and
evolved.” Obviously it’s an exaggeration, but my point is that it’s a waste of
everyone’s time and energy - especially yours - because you’re missing out on
an opportunity to really CONNECT to the person with whom you’re speaking.

I’ll pull out one of
my favorite quotes by Philip Seymour Hoffman here because, well, it always
helps me and makes me less scared to be vulnerable and share the good/bad/ugly
of my story!! "If you're a human being walking the earth, you're weird,
you're strange, you're psychologically challenged."

2. Imagine that you are pre-vegan again: how
could someone have talked to you and what could they have said or shown you
that could have been the most effective way to have a positive influence on you
moving toward veganism?

See above. hehe.
They could tell me their full, un-edited, flawed, ugly, honest story!! Every
part of it. They would open up 100% and be real, human, imperfect, vulnerable,
curious, patient, and still open to learning from me. They don’t have an
evangelical, sales-person vibe to them. They share their story because they
know I’m a good person who wants to do good in the world, too, and not because
they want to “win” at being pure and right. They have self-love and
inner-validation and don’t use veganism to feel validated (it took me years to
figure out I was doing this!!) They would tell me that consciousness is a
lifelong process of learning and unlearning, that everyone has their own path,
and that I can start wherever works for me. It would be a collaborative
conversation wherein both sides are being heard; them talking WITH me and
wanting the best for me rather than AT me and wanting to feel
powerful/important.

3. What have you found to be the most effective
way to communicate your message as a vegan? For example, humor, passion,
images, etc.?

Based on the above,
it won’t come as a surprise to you when I say; Honesty. But seriously, it has
helped me a lot to recognize that I am right-brained and have fruitlessly been
trying to turn my aspirational self into a left-brained person for as long as I
can remember (2nd grade, to be precise). It’s been a revelation for me to do
work that works for me; in the realm of emotions, creativity and intuition.
Right-brained, creative, emotion-driven folks - IT’S OUR TIME!! BE YOU. OWN IT,
EMBRACE IT, LIVE IT. Our country is full of other right-brained folks ready and
eager to hear you, feel you, learn from you, and be inspired by you.

Anyway, my point
here is that self-knowledge/self-discovery is paramount. We’re most effective
when we’re being authentic and playing up our natural strengths. For some of my
favorite resources to help with this, check out VOAA’s inspiration board.

4. What do you think are the biggest strengths
of the vegan movement?

Facts. We destroy it
on the facts!! We are ready to be fact-tested on a moment’s notice.

And I’m incredibly
inspired by the strength, creativity and momentum of our pro-intersectional
vegan movement. We are well on our way to ensuring that veganism is for
everyone and that fighting oppression means fighting ALL forms of oppression!!
There are so many vegans who get it - that small is the new big. We are
community-based, community-facing, cooperative and collective!! By pointing our
focus and attention toward those whose work also exemplifies community over
competition, cooperation over capitalism, and collectives over hierarchies, we
will empower each other, take power away from the oppressors, and change the
landscape of veganism in the US.

Fred Rogers knows it
and we know it, too. “But how do we make goodness attractive? By doing whatever
we can do to bring courage to those whose lives move near our own, by treating
our ‘neighbor’ at least as well as we treat ourselves and allowing that to
inform everything that we produce.”

5. What do you think are our biggest hindrances
to getting the word out effectively?

We need to be more
REAL and encourage others to do the same. Especially those with the most power
and influence. Speaking of those with the most power and influence, if you’re listening,
why not take a more reciprocal approach and help amplify the voices who don’t
get the same air-time as you?

"As human
beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each
one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has--or
ever will have--something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to
encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of
developing its expression." -Fred Rogers

6. All of us need a “why vegan” elevator pitch.
We’d love to hear yours.

“I direct a
communication-centric non-profit all about bringing together vegans and
non-vegans - here, have a sticker! The website is on there - you should check
it out.”

I’m always carrying
VOAA stickers. I hand them out as my business card every time I meet someone
new. And I put them up anywhere in the city where there’s stickers. I live in
Brooklyn, so this means I have many opportunities!

I also LOVE this
quote and use it often in VOAA videos to introduce folks to what will hopefully
be a lifetime of being FULLY AWAKE: “It takes courage...to endure the sharp
pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of
unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.” -Marianne Williamson

To be honest, I am
definitely still recovering from a few years of putting myself out there in way
that really messed with my mental health, so VOAA stickering is my current
elevator pitch! This sort of blends in to #8, but I just want to say 1) Your
pitch - and your activism - don’t have to take away all your joy in life. You
deserve to be happy!! Activism requires bravery and strength, but it doesn’t
mean you need to sacrifice yourself. 2) If you can make your pitch actually be YOUR THING; something where you have autonomy over your duties and are able to be 100% YOU, it will be more fun for you PLUS folks will instantly FEEL all that amazing energy and pick up what you are throwing down!!! So, get out
there, get started. Start an Instagram, a YouTube channel, a recurring event, a
directory, a ‘zine, a book, a film, a support group, a community garden, a
community kitchen, anything!!! It will be awkward and probably suck at first.
1) Awkwardness is way underrated 2) Everyone sucks at first. Everyone starts
sometime; what better time than now??!

7. Who are the people and what are the books,
films, websites and organizations that have had the greatest influence on your
veganism and your continuing evolution?

SO MANY! I link to many of them on the VOAA site.
I’ll also link to a few more who aren’t vegan, but who influence my work in #9.

One film every vegan
needs to add to their list is the documentary 13th.
Watch it, recommend it, talk about it, host a screening (Netflix is offering
free screenings). The film summarizes the issue very succinctly: slavery in our
country never left. It turned into Jim Crow laws, which turned into mass
incarceration. The 13th amendment turned slaves into criminals. We say we would
have been on the front lines and been active in the civil rights movement, but
why aren’t more of us getting active now when one in three Black men are
expected to end up behind bars while it’s one in 17 for a White man? The United States is home to 25% of the
world’s prison population even though we’re only 5% of the global population.
Corporations are making a killing off of prison labor. We’ve now reached over
151 years since the abolition of slavery yet institutionalized racial
inequality in our country continues. We have a moral imperative to be a part of
this movement and fight for racial equality and justice.

Another note about
awkwardness. Yes, when we’re new at advocating for something, we’re awkward.
That’s just the way it is. New vegans are going to be awkward and make mistakes
just like new White allies are going to be awkward and make mistakes. It’s just
one more reason inner-confidence and inner-strength from a deep sense of
self-love is so vital for spreading social change! We have to be OK with
putting ourselves out there simply because it’s the right thing to do. And not
having a meltdown if a Black person corrects us or calls us out on
misinformation. We can’t link our ego and our activism or we’ll be fragile
pieces of pottery; not sturdy enough to stand up to incredibly strong evil
powers.

8. Burn-out is so common among vegans: what do
you do to unwind, recharge and inspire yourself?

I got caught up in
what turned out to be a pattern in my professional life: ignoring my own needs
to please others; to gain love and acceptance from perceived authority figures
in the movement. Habits learned in childhood die hard! I have seen this happen
in other vegans, too. Since I started working on VOAA, it’s been such a relief
and life-changer to start from scratch and get to know the real me. This is the
first time in my career - and I’m 34 - that I’ve had autonomy over my job
duties. I spent all the years before this biting my tongue and telling myself
that if I just stay busy enough and say YES enough times that SOMEONE is bound
to notice. What would happen once someone noticed?? I had no idea! It was an
exhausting, unending treadmill of seeking-validation/love/acceptance-from-outside-myself.
Anyway, nobody noticed. THANKFULLY! lol. I thoroughly and completely burned
myself out. So, I decided I had nothing to lose. Now, I feel like I’m making up
for lost time and learning who the hell I really am!!

The best thing we
can do is figure out how to do activism that is 100% US. A funny thing starts
to happen when we do this. We realize how much we need others. So, then we get
to join forces with other amazing activists also doing their own thing!! We
learn emotional, intellectual and spiritual skills from them. Boundaries become
easier; being able to turn off WORK and turn on PLAY. It’s awesome. I’m just
beginning to experience all these awesome changes and can’t wait to really LIVE
THIS in 2017.

That said, it’s
always a delicate balance. It’s just like Janelle Monáe says, “Whether I'm high
or low, I got to tip on the tightrope.”

9. What is the issue nearest and dearest to
your heart that you would like others to know more about?

Abuse of power over
children. Childhood emotional neglect is the cause of so many adults with
boundary issues, debilitating self-doubt, living life feeling powerless; from
the viewpoint of victims, inability to ask for help, unhealthy view of the
world; issues being strictly black or white, having an overdeveloped sense of
responsibility, fearing authority figures, and becoming professional approval
seekers. The books Running
on Empty; Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect by Jonice Webb and The
Drama of the Gifted Child; The Search for True Self by Alice Miller
have been very helpful to me personally as well as adultchildren.org
and the group’s printed resources. If you find yourself relating to these
qualities, check out the “Laundry List” on adultchildren.org.
It will get you started in the right direction!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Yeah, it’s that time.
I’ll be honest: 2016 has kicked our collective asses and set the whole ass-mess
on fire and poured gasoline over the top so I was a little hesitant to add to the negative vibes with my Eighth
Annual Disgruntled Vegan Alphabet but, yeah, who am I kidding? Clearly,
Ilovetovent
and complain.
Here goes!

A is for “Ach-oo!” Better not sneeze around certain people or they will
blame your cold as well as everything from the dry patch on your hand to your weird
baby toenail on the fact that you are vegan. B is for the Bohemian “influencers” on Instagram who embrace veganism with great
fanfare one week and publicly ditch it as soon as they decide it’s less
cool/quirky a week later. B is also for Buh-bye.
C is for the Challenge of hearing someone go on about how he “met a vegan once
and she got really sick,” and doing your best to not roll your eyes. D is for, “Did you know Hitler was a vegetarian?” Um, nice try but he was a
meat-eater, just like Stalin, Pol
Pot and Idi Amin. Hitler was not a
vegetarian; neither am I. So why are you bringing this up? E is for the Evil eye you shoot at the omnivores who chow down on the single
vegan dish at your office's catered holiday buffet and then ultimately
have to resort to physically blocking them because they are impervious to the
subtle nuances of your death glare. F is for Farmers markets being overtaken with purveyors of animal carcasses
and the smell of cooked animal carcasses hanging in the air. G is for the Gushing from your foodie friend about how tender her chicken is
and WHY DOES SHE THINK YOU WANT TO HEAR THIS??? WHY???His for Hosts who tell you not to bring any food to their party because there
will be plenty of food for vegans and you discover that plenty = you're lucky if there's a bowl of tortilla
chips and some pickles. I is for Is it possible to die of irritation? Like should I be worried about
this? J is for Journalists who insist on inserting unoriginal and predictable
snark to their stories about veganism, whether it fits the tone or not. GAH! K is for Karma, as in, you’d better hope there is not such a thing as it but
I am crossing my fingers for it so nah-nah. L is for being Lumped in with flaky dietary faddists in the public view and the
vegans who reinforce this with their random food rules that have nothing to do
with veganism.M is for the Mail that brings you a catalog from Heifer International. How did
you get on their damn mailing list?! N is for Naively not checking your pick-up order before you left the
restaurant with it and coming home to discover animal flesh in it. O is for Oh, my flipping God, he’s really president…P is for the People in your life who send you every link that crosses their eyes
that paints veganism in a negative light. Q is for Questionable credentials of the guy in your office who considers
himself an expert on nutrition (or agriculture, climate change, cruelty to
animals, etc.) and sees it as a personal mission to try to "educate" you
whenever possible.

R
is for Roasting in your car in the
summer as you eat the lunch you packed along because the amusement part has
nothing for you to eat and they don’t allow outside food.S is for Sitting next to the paleo enthusiast at the annual animal charity
benefit, that, you know, also serves meat so as to not alienate anyone and YOU
ARE AN ANIMAL CHARITY, DAMN IT. What letter was this? There is so much to
complain about. T is for Trying to get the kale out from between your teeth when you dine out
with friends but you can tell it’s still there and they are all looking at you
like “???” because you keep swishing water in your mouth and doing weird things
with your tongue and you will never be invited out again because of kale and
when will you remember to take dental floss along with you?U is for Until lions decide to go vegan, a sizeable segment of the
population will cling to their bizarre excuse for eating animals. V is for Vacillating between wanting to be the vegan who indulges inane questions,
predictable jokes, bigoted opinions, inconsiderate behavior and more with patience
and trying that for five seconds before you want to explode in an angry
fusillade of really bad behavior. W is for Waiting for the server to take a breath in describing the meat-,
cheese- and egg-laden specials of the night so you can say, yeah, nope, vegan. X is for Xeno, as in thank goodness for the Scientologists because as long
as they’re around, there will be a population the public wants to avoid even
more than they want to avoid vegans. Y is for YouTubers who happen to be vegan and obnoxious and embarrass you to
death. Z is for the Zen state of peace you feel when you block a troll on Facebook that
gets punctured 20 seconds later when a new troll announces his arrival with an "Mmm...bacon," comment to your link about cruelty to animals.

It’s out of my system now. Toodles until next year’s grievance session!

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Hanukkah starts
December 24 this year so what better time to talk to Jeffrey Cohan, Executive Director of
Jewish Veg? With a background in
journalism and Jewish communal service, Jeffrey is a longtime vegetarian and
has been vegan since 2010. As blogger behind The Beet-Eating Heeb, Jeffrey explores
the spiritual basis of veganism with humor, honesty and insight. Under Jeffrey’s
leadership since 2012, Jewish Veg, once known as Jewish Vegetarians of North
America, has shifted their focus to a vegan message and they have lots of events coming up, including a college
speaking tour in the Spring (dates are still to be announced but you can see last year’s
tour) and a free, Jewish-themed vegan starter guide.
In October, Jewish Veg posted a video of their sponsored talk in New York, Alex Hershaft’s powerfully moving “From the Warsaw Ghetto to a Lifetime of Compassion,” speech. According to Jeffrey, Jewish Veg has become the fastest-growing vegan advocacy
organization in the United States and it clearly shows no signs of slowing down. I am honored
that Jeffrey is this week’s Vegan Rockstar. 1. First of all, we’d love to hear your
“vegan evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early
influences or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave
your path?

I was a big-time carnivore, regrettably, until the age of
41. That’s when, as a Jew, I first encountered Genesis 1:29, where God commands
us to eat a vegan diet. I went vegetarian that day and, about three years
later, went vegan after reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, Eating
Animals.
2. Imagine that you are pre-vegan again: how could someone have talked to you
and what could they have said or shown you that could have been the most
effective way to have a positive influence on you moving toward veganism?

I’d like to think that if someone had educated me about what’s
happening to farmed animals, I would have gone vegan on the spot. I also would
have been open to the compelling evidence that a healthy vegan diet is the only
diet proven to reverse heart disease.

3.
What have you found to be the most effective way to communicate your message as
a vegan? For example, humor, passion, images, etc.?

The most effective mediums are live presentations and
personal interactions. The power of live, in-person, human-to-human
communication is unmatched. Within those mediums, humor and authentic passion
are an effective mix. In my blog, The Beet-Eating Heeb, and in my live
presentations, I try to incorporate both. We need humor to get people’s guard
down and passion to crack into their hearts.
4. What do you think are the biggest strengths of the vegan movement?

Two things come to mind.

One is that our arrow is pointing up. We definitely have
momentum. There are many indicators of that, none more obvious than the
proliferation of vegan products on grocery-store shelves. A lot of very smart,
hard-working people in our movement have helped make this happen.

The second is that we have the facts squarely on our side,
whether you’re talking about ethics, health, the environment, or, in our case,
Judaism. We do and will win the debate with carnivores every time.

5.
What do you think are our biggest hindrances to getting the word out
effectively?

Again, two things come to mind.

The first is, our opposition might not have the facts on
their side, but they have a massive marketing budget, tradition, and majority
opinion on their side. Did I mention a massive marketing budget? The fact that
we’ve made such progress despite these enormous obstacles is pretty impressive.

Secondly, the animal-rights movement is very divided and is
sending out conflicting messages to the public. To a certain extent, some
degree of fracturing is inevitable in growing social movements. In some cases,
a variety of approaches can be productive. However, in the United States, the
animal-welfare message has become a little too dominant. I hope the funding
community will recognize this imbalance and offer greater support to the
vegan-advocacy movement.

6.
All of us need a “why vegan” elevator pitch. We’d love to hear yours.

There is no change you can make today that will have such a
powerfully positive effect on animals, on the planet, on your health and on
your soul. And today, it’s easier than ever before to make that change.

7. Who
are the people and what are the books, films, websites and organizations that
have had the greatest influence on your veganism and your continuing evolution?

I love to read, so books have had a big influence of me.
Reading Eating Animals instantly
transformed me from a vegetarian into a vegan.

The Bible, or what we call the Torah, has been a big
influence as well. At Jewish Veg, we are bringing to light religious teachings
that have been variously ignored, suppressed or misinterpreted. The Jewish
Bible establishes a plant-based diet as the ideal, frames meat-eating as the
manifestation of human gluttony, and mandates that we treat animals with
exquisite compassion.

It’s amazing, when you think about it, that the authors of
the Bible knew 3,000 years ago that killing animals for food was wrong and that
eating plants was best for our souls and our health. This was 2,900 years
before the creation of the first factory farm.

8.
Burn-out is so common among vegans: what do you do to unwind, recharge and
inspire yourself?

Shabbat. My job, as executive director of Jewish Veg, is
very demanding, which is a good thing. But if not for Shabbat, I would have
burned out a long time ago. I don’t work on Saturdays unless I’m speaking at a
synagogue. I absolutely love my job, but knowing that I have a 24-hour respite
every week enables to me work harder and longer on the other six days.

I also try to do some form of exercise at least four times a
week. And I meditate daily.

9. What is the issue nearest and dearest to your heart that
you would like others to know more about?

Here is what I would like
everyone to know: The word “dominion” in the Bible absolutely does NOT give us
permission to kill animals for food – or to mistreat them, period.

The famous “dominion” verse
(Genesis 1:26) is part of the same, uninterrupted conversation in which God
tells us to eat plants and only plants (Genesis 1:29).

Furthermore, Genesis 1:26 is
where we also find the statement that humans beings are made in God’s image.
This means we’re supposed to exercise dominion over animals in the same fashion
as God exercises dominion over people. And in Jewish thought, there is no
debate that God’s primary attributes are mercy and compassion.

So the English word “dominion” is
really an unfortunate translation. “Compassionate stewardship” would be far
more accurate.

10. Please finish this sentence: “To me, being vegan is...”

… a spiritual awakening.” No one
told me this would happen, but I’ve since found out that it’s a common
experience for vegans. I feel a much deeper connection to the Universe.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

I should say that to write about this subject, I am going to have to use terms
and broad generalizations that some people don’t appreciate, including myself.
For example, the word “liberal” and its flabby, namby-pamby associations are proverbial
fingernails on the chalkboard to me. I don’t relate to the word or the wimpy
associations with liberalism at all. I will, however, accept that the word a
person might come up with to describe me or someone like me is liberal. Yes, I just shuddered. I accept,
though, that language is as subjective as it is imprecise and our understanding
of one another, especially when we are strangers, is quite limited, so I can
live with being labeled as a “liberal” for the purposes of this essay. Just for
now, though.

I bring this up
because a common refrain I am hearing these days from conservative circles - yes,
sometimes I am close enough to safely eavesdrop - in the weeks after the presidential
election is that the left, a.k.a., liberals, a.k.a., people like me, are so
damn emotional about everything. As a
vegan, I’ve heard this one-note assessment of our temperament for years but it
has become especially noticeable lately as it gets thickly applied to the left
as a whole. There are many who will dismiss vegans as overwrought tree-huggers despite
the abundant, verifiable proof we supply of the widespread harm and brutality
of animal agribusiness; it’s been interesting to see this broad and
condescending assessment applied to so many on the left now.

Maybe there is some
truth to the accusation of being emotional. From my observation post, conservatives
do seem to be able to disagree and argue, often vigorously, but at the end of
the day, be able to move on and not take it personally. It seemingly rolls off
them like water off a duck’s back. People on the left, however, do not seem to
be able to do the same. The common conservative take on it is…

People on the left take things personally.

People on the left get angry and upset.

People on the left get emotional.

In conservative dog-whistle terms, it is that liberals are irrational.

[I want to submit that perhaps *cough*likely*cough*
there is also an unspoken subtext of those on the left not being in possession
of ostensibly “masculine” characteristics like rationality, self-control and cool-headedness
and instead, being guided by the equally baselessly-assigned “feminine” traits
of irrationality, hysteria and melodramatics but that’s a different subject for
a different day.]

I will be the first to admit that much of this accusation is true in my case: I
do take things personally, especially with this last election where there is so
much to lose, even though the actual personal stakes are not that high. Many other
“liberals” do the same. Why is this? We have this internal mechanism called empathy. What matters to us expands
beyond the immediate parameters of our own skin because we empathize and
because we feel a sense of interconnectedness, which means that we also feel a
responsibility to try to reduce tyranny and injustice against others. This is
not a spectator sport where we sit on the sidelines watching as we idly toss
popcorn into our mouths. I can understand how strange our response must look to
someone who is relatively untouched by oppression and who is more or less immune
to the real-world consequences of systemic bigotry. In order to recognize and
understand one’s own advantages in any significant way, it takes an awareness that
is rooted in empathy for those who have had experiences outside of one’s own limited
worldview, especially those who have been born with fewer advantages.

So, yes, I do get angry and upset when others are oppressed and I believe
rightfully so: injustice matters to me, and it should matter to all of us. Racism
matters to me, even if I am unscathed by it personally. Misogyny matters to me
even if I am no longer worried about my own reproductive rights. Mocking the
disabled matters to me even if I am not disabled. Again, this is not a spectator
sport to some of us: This is all contact. The tackles, the punches, the body slams:
They might not land on me but the assaults on others are felt and they are felt
viscerally. I am not going to apologize for caring about the welfare of others.
No one should apologize for that.

Here is where I will disagree, though, with the assumption of irrationality being
a necessary consequence of strong emotions, in particular the emotions of those
who are not ambivalent about bigotry and injustice. Emotions and rationality clearly
diverge here because this is what is not rational: Believing that those who
make racially problematic (to say the least) comments and engage in discriminatory
practices
can represent the interests of our citizenry in a fair and equitable way. That
is not rational. It is also not rational to think that a man who boasts of his
capacity to sexually assault women is someone who respects females.
Further, it is irrational to think that those who are not heterosexual will be
safe under the administration of someone who is filling his cabinet (as well as
his Vice President position) with notoriously anti-LBGTQ appointments.
It is irrational to think that someone who is not transparent about his
considerable worldwide financial conflicts of interest might not be operating
with the best interests of the nation guiding his policies and decision-making.
It is not rational to think that someone who rage-tweets
at Saturday Night Live in the middle of the night and re-tweets random bigots
has the gravitas and temperament to be President of the United States. This is
tip o’ the iceberg stuff. It is deeply irrational to be expected to suspend
reason and fact to isolate the words and actions of an individual and
reclassify it as something other than what the evidence continually supports.

Here is what is rational: To expect that a man who is continually digging
himself deeper into a hole in terms of bigotry might just be, well, bigoted.
And that someone who is as slippery about divulging and divesting his financial
interests as Donald Trump might not have the best interests of the nation as
his priority. And that someone who regularly tantrums and bullies from his Twitter
pulpit in the middle of the night may just not be of the temperament needed to
preside over the United States. In fact, holding these views would be highly
rational as they are reflective of documentable reality: We have seen
consistent examples of actions, behaviors and statements that lead us to
believe that Donald Trump, his policies and his administration will be harmful
for people of color, women, the LBGTQ and our national best interests yet we
are being told to disregard and ignore what we have seen because, I don’t know,
magic?

That is irrational.

So, yes, I am emotional, but, no, I am not irrational. I am emotional and I am
highly rational. These two states are not necessarily antagonistic to each other and, in a
post-November 8, 2016 world, co-exist together more easily than ever. Can you be emotional and irrational? Of course. Indifference to tyranny and oppression, though, does not equal rationality. In fact, in some cases, it couldn't be further from it.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

I could not even come
close to describing the impressive (to say the least) accomplishments of Jackie Day of the popular blog, My Vegan Journal. After reading
her bio, I wanted to simultaneously take a nap and roll up my sleeves to get to
work. Jackie is a long-time vegan, an award-winning educator, a children’s
health advocate, a health policy innovator, an animal activist and more. As a well-known blogger, Jackie is able to bring her joyful message of health and compassion
to a wide audience, empowering people to become educated on important issues
and take a stand on what matters. A true grassroots organizer, Jackie doesn’t just maintain an
online presence: she is out on the streets, creating positive change in her
community and around the world.

Now Jackie is out with
her first beautiful book, The Vegan Way: 21-Days to a Happier, Healthier Plant-Based Lifestyle that Will Transform Your Home, Your Diet and You, published by St. Martin’s Press. A generous and
engaging guide for leaning into how and why to make a vegan transition, Jackie
offers an inclusive road map for anyone. From switching out dairy to finding
cruelty-free cosmetics, removing toxic cleaning products to educating about
animals in entertainment, each chapter offers an attainable goal and is written
in a breezy, accessible but honest way, removing roadblocks and myths as she
goes. (Review coming soon!) I am excited to feature Jackie today as our Vegan
Rock Star and happy to help get the word out about her fabulousness.

1. First of all, we’d love to hear your
“vegan evolution” story. How did you start out? Did you have any early
influences or experiences as a young person that in retrospect helped to pave
your path?

There’s actually an entire chapter in my book entitled “My
Road To Vegan,” which describes my journey, but in a nutshell my path involved
a unique combo of a frozen TV dinner, the act of feeding our dog scraps of
“meat” under the table, and a fortuitous encounter with a stranger who needed a
ride home.

2. Imagine that you are
pre-vegan again: how could someone have talked to you and what could they have
said or shown you that could have been the most effective way to have a
positive influence on you moving toward veganism?

Fortunately,
all my brain needed was the information; the simple truth. My heart was open,
and my mind was a sponge. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

3. What have you found to be the most
effective way to communicate your message as a vegan? For example, humor,
passion, images, etc.?

It
all depends on the audience. When speaking to someone one on one, I think it’s
wise to put ourselves in the shoes of the person who we’re trying to inspire;
look through their eyes, as best as we can, and go from there. After all, we’ve
all traveled on different paths with different experiences that can taint our
perception of the truth, and our willingness to embrace change.

As an author, I tend to write in an upbeat fashion, that’s positive and hopeful,
but I don’t skirt the truth. I paint a
picture with words to get the point across, but never leave readers feeling
helpless or hopeless. We can make a difference with every bite we eat, and
every dollar we spend – and we are,
in a very big way!

4. What do you think are the biggest strengths of the vegan movement?

The biggest strength of the vegan movement is this: we’re inspiring others
to move towards the inevitable. As I explain in great detail in The Vegan Way, history is on our side. We’re in the midst of a paradigm shift; everyone is going vegan. It’s simply impossible for our species to
survive without transitioning to a plant-based way of living.

5. What do you think are our
biggest hindrances to getting the word out effectively?

I actually
think all forms of non-violent activism can be effective as long as you’re
targeting your audience wisely. Everything from a little humor (the talented
cartoonist, Dan Piraro comes to mind) - or a
gentle nudge to try a vegan cupcake - to large protests with graphic photos,
can be effective. We’re all so very
different when it comes to being inspired. What works for one person, might not
work for someone else. We’re all in this
together, and I’m grateful for all
advocates who are trying to make the world a better place.

As
for roadblocks, the fact that so many pro Big Ag folks wind up having power in
the government, coupled with politicians serving as paid advisors to Big Ag
folks once they’re done in D.C. is certainly cause for concern. Those creating
legislation and regulations shouldn’t be so ensnarled in the promotion of
cholesterol laden, saturated fat-filled, antibiotic and hormone infested animal
products. It’s a conflict of interest, and the world suffers greatly because of
it.

6. All of us need a “why vegan” elevator
pitch. We’d love to hear yours.

7. Who are the people and what are the books, films, websites and organizations
that have had the greatest influence on your veganism and your continuing
evolution?Oh, gosh, there are so many! Diet for a New America
by John Robbins was immensely helpful to me in the late 80’s, and if we flash
forward to today, I’m currently enjoying learning new plant-based nutrition
facts from Dr. Michael Greger’s New York Times Best Seller, How Not To Die.
The first animal rights pamphlets I recall reading in the early 80’s were from People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals which provided ample food
for thought and inspiration. And I’m delighted to see a surge in animal
friendly books for kids, such as Ruby Roth’s Vegan is
Love, and Santa’s
First Vegan Christmas by Robin Raven and
Kara-Maria Schunk, both of which nurture compassion.

8. Burn-out is so common among
vegans: what do you do to unwind, recharge and inspire yourself?

Every few
months or so, I enjoy a social media cleanse and detach from Facebook, Twitter,
Pinterest, etc. for a few days, or even a few weeks. It’s not easy; sometimes I
even have my husband change my password on my accounts because I’m so drawn to
social media these days, but the break is well worth it. I also find that
spending time outdoors gardening, bike riding, or hiking relieves stress, or in
the winter months, knitting, baking, writing, and cuddling with our kitties,
helps too. I also like to unwind by surrounding myself with things that smell
good: lavender oil, herbal teas, and candles that smell like sweet treats.Helping
others also provides fuel for inspiration. I launched my book at Barnes and
Noble last night and was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm of folks who want to
know how they can make the world a better place right now; it’s so energizing
to plant seeds of compassion, and watch them grow.

9. What is the issue nearest and dearest
to your heart that you would like others to know more about?

All issues that concern needless suffering are important. I encourage folks to learn more about an
issue that’s dear to their heart, and
then gradually increase their circle of compassion to include everyone else.